Versus a midsize Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, the Smart ForTwo is not only pulverized, with the passenger compartment getting squashed, but it goes airborne like a beach ball.

The two-seat Smart car isn't the only example of how owners of small, fuel-sipping models sacrifice safety on the road, sometimes substantially.

Check out this sobering collision between a subcompact Honda Fit with a Honda Accord sedan.

Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, told the Wall Street Journal: "I think everyone knows you don't send a flyweight into the ring against a heavyweight. But in this case the larger cars aren't heavyweights."

He said many drivers are likely to be surprised by the damage done to smaller cars by mid-size family vehicles like the Toyota Camry.

Yep. We were. Watch the Camry vs. the Toyota Yaris.

All three small cars received "poor" ratings in the crash test, which is the Insurance Institute's worst rating.

The Insurance Institute, a research group funded by the insurance industry, staged offset crashes between two cars traveling toward each other at 40 miles an hour. The group tested three pairs of cars consisting of subcompact and midsize models from the same manufacturer.

Car makers Honda Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz unit Smart have responded, saying the tests were "extreme" and simulated a type of crash that is rare in real-world driving.

But isn't that the purpose of these tests - to see how vehicles will perform in all crash scenarios? Rare or not, these kinds of collisions can - and have - happened.